Presently, U.S. infantry troops are issued camouflage patterned garments known as battle dress uniforms (BDUs). BDUs are used both in battle and during the execution of other tasks associated with military service. The BDUs in current use are either provided with a three or four color camouflage pattern that is printed directly onto the surface of the garment fabric. The nature of the pattern (e.g., color depth), as well as the particular physical construction of the fabric (e.g. fiber types), are dictated by to military specifications designated as MIL-C-44436(GL) and MIL-C-44031D. These specifications there developed after the creation and adoption of a material presently used by the military for all BDUs known as “Nyco.” This material comprises 50/50) blend of nylon and cotton. Because the specifications were written based upon the Nyco material, many of the construction characteristics identified in MIL-C-44436(GL) and MIL-C-44031D specifically pertain to this material.
Although most military personnel are issued BDUs, troops involved in specialized areas of military service are often provided with flame resistant uniforms. For example, troops that work in close proximity to flammable liquids such as pilots, combat vehicle crewmen, and fuel handlers are outfitted with garments composed of meta-aramid fibers such as NOMEXR fibers, which are manufactured by DuPont of Wilmington, Del.
Recently, the federal government has expressed interest in providing flame resistant BDUs to military personnel. Although personnel could be issued BDUs constructed primarily of meta-aramid fibers to obtain the desired flame resistance, the costs of providing each person with such a garment would be extremely large. In addition, the tensile and tear strengths of such a fabric would likely fall far short of the requirements of MIL-C-44436(GL) and MIL-C-44031D. Although there are known fibers that have desirable flame resistance properties as well as high tensile and tear strengths, use of such fibers is generally not considered viable for BDU construction because it is difficult to form durable patterns on many of these fibers.
From the above, it can be appreciated that it is desirable to have a patterned, flame resistant fabric which would be a suitable substitute for existing BDU materials. Furthermore, it should be desirable to have a method for making such a fabric.